- ev

z131

1Ir

4/.(

te

444,

.4

494f

t"4V

4

0 3 3

ilifi

=11

111

b

rrrr

Er

1111

1E"

ilF73

1111

178:

1111

11:,)

,-,

- 0.

1.0

mm

c-.

..,. &

osA

BC

DE

FG

HIJ

KLM

NO

PQ

RS

TU

VW

XY

Z04

4.,-

;,443

,,,,,:

46.

e1.

5 m

mab

cdet

zhO

lmno

pqrs

tuvw

xyz1

2345

6789

0

(:, r

Xc'

3C

)q,

b

0.*4

-A

BC

DE

FG

HIJ

KLM

NO

PQ

RS

TU

VW

XY

Z.1

)

, A -

abcd

efgh

ijklm

nopq

rstu

vwxy

z1)

.1)

`I,-

2.0

mm

1234

5678

90..

0)

ED 278 246

AUTHW Danahy, MichaelTITLE 'IrV or Not TV?PUB DATE 85NOTE 8p.; In: Gillespie, Junetta B., Ed. Video and Second

Language Learning. Urbana, Language LearningLaboratory, University of Illinois at aturbana-Champaign, 1985; see FL 016 373.Guides - Classroom Use Guides (For Teachers) (052)-- Journal Articles (080)

PUB TYPE,

XDRS PRICEDESCRIPTORS

MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.Audiolingual Skills; Audiovisual Aids; ClassroomTechniques; Communication Skills; Cultural Education;*Educational Television; French; LanguageProficiency; Learning Modules; *Media Selection;*Pantomime; Second Language Instruction; *Television;*Videotape Recordings*Inaudible Television

Three ways of using video cassettes in secondlanguage instruction include: commercially produced culture capsules,the "Speakeasy" series from the British Broadcasting Corporation, andvideos locally recorded off-air. Tbe advantages of using each ofthese materials types are outlined, amd specific techniques forintegrating them into classroom instruction are suggested.Theoretical justifications for the use of videocassettes areexplained. Video provides valuable redundancy for the foreignlanguage learner and gives the sense that foreign languagecommunication is relevant to today's technological society. (MSE)

***********************************************************************Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made

: from the original document.

U.s. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Mice ot Educational Researchand Improvement

EDLIATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

This docUment has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organization

, originating it.o Minor changes have been

made to improve

reproduction Quality.

poi nts of vievi or opinionsstated in this docu-

ment do not necessarily represent official

OERI position or PolicV.

Michael Danahyl

This artizle describes three ways of using video cassettes in L2 instruction: mdturecapsules commercially Available, such u "Chroniques de France, the "Speakusy" *tries from theBBC, and videos lacally recorded off air. The advantage5 of' using these types of maftrials arediscussed, along with techniques for integrating them into classroom instruction and theoreticaljutifications for tbeir use.

Video cassettes in the L2 classroom display many immediate and obvious advantages. for the mind they(.4fer a procession of stimulating images in living color; for the ears a range of speaking voices at varied levels ofaDinguage; and for the eyes, a fascinating glimpse of the non-verbal features of interacdng in the foreign language,

luding the authentic and spontaneous lip movements and body language of natives (Jensen 1978). Video cassettesare quieter and easier to operate than projecting films or juggling filmstrips with cassettes and, in the long run, theywill prove less expensive and more durable an investment than other forms of equipment and hardware. They give thelook and feel of being an up-to-date part of today's worlda quality all too often missing in textbooks, which areoften wriiten several years before they reach the student in the classroom. But how can video be used effectively?

The President of Harvard has rightly said in his recent report to the Board of Governors that technology isonly like the trucks that bring us food: they do not determine the quality of our diet and our nutritional values; theyonly get the stuff to us (Fiske 1985). So it is up to the users to determine "TV or not TV". In this article, I willdescribe three specific ways in which I have integrated video instruction into the L2 classroom, in the hopes that theseexperiences will help others to be successful and effective in their endeavors.

First, however, a brief sumrnary of current data may prove helpful. A search of the literature suggests twothings. First FL instruction with video cassettes is most advanced in Europe, where distances are small enough topermit recording broadcasts from one country to another (Harding-Esch 1982, Hill 1978, Odom 1976, Riley 1976).Second, in the United States, research in video-cassette instruction for L2 instructional purposes has flourishedprimarily in the field of English as a Second Language. Therefore, the instructor interested in learning whatcolleagues in the field are doing is best advised to consult the literature in this field (Allan 1984, Linke 1981, McLean1975).

Some of this literature deals with aspects of viideo-ca.ssette instruction that I will not consider in this article,.

namely, the studio production of video cassettes either for student instruction or for the training of language teachers,i.e. courses (like that produced by Rassias and CBS or Ensemble by the BBC) eriecifically designed to teach aparticular language or language teaching methods.

Description of Materials

CULTURAL CAPSULES ON CASSETTE

The Chronlques de France series, to take one example, was originally produced in France and distributed inthis country by the French Cultural Services. These five- to seven-minute color films with sound tracks were

-

1. Michael Danahy has taught both French literature and language at Wesleyan University and Theennsylvania State University. IASt year he won the Chinard Prize for ogical scholarship as well as the LiberalArts Aluirini Award for distinguished teaching.

SIS011, A1.1415

k

'STUDIES IN LANGUAGE' LEARNING S:1 (1983)

available on a subscription basis fee a small fee. Each release focused co one topic of broad cultural and educationalappeal. With the subscription came a printed transcript of all narrative voices in the film and sometimes those ofpersons being interviewed or directly recorded on camera. By now, sow; of these topics are outdated, but theyincluded a range from Armen the painter to the manufwture of saxophones to the Observatory at St. Michel deProvence and the athletic accomplishments of Marie Debourse.

Some of the titles are now available either as films or as video cassettes from International Film Bureau.Since my university had purchased the films outright and since the French Cultural Services were no longer makingor distributing the series, we were able to obtain permission to make one copy of several films in our holdings onvideo cassette for classroom use only.

The cassettes are used primarily for the development of listening comprehension and as cultural capsules. Inclass, of course, video cassettes are as efficient to operate as audio cassettes. The class can be grouped around thetube with no interference from a clacking camera. Most importantly, tapes can be quickly and quietly rewound forinstant replay. This advantage is particularly useful for reinforcing actual progress in student comprehension, as wellas the students' confidence that some progress has been made.

However, I do not play the tapes twice in a row. In between the two runs, we spend 10 to 20 minutes onvarious activities based directly on the script. Thus, the individual instructor is free to use the printed and visualmaterial as the basis of a cognitive approach to grammar, or a series of TPR activities, or inductive, empiricalvocabulary development. I very often use the script to devise a series of content questions geared to the ACTFL maiproficiency level of the students. Borrowing from the ALM repertory, I signalfour or five different students to posethe same question in rapid fire succession to the same student. The person designated thus has time to assimilate thequestion and formulate an answer.

The questions can be simple yes/no or more complex types, but in all cases the class is being physicallyconditioned to benefit from the second showing of the tape. The mouths and ears of the audience are getting used towhat they will be hearing and seeing on television and the psychological impact of recognition the second timearound is usually forceful and favorable.

I have also devised written exercises based literally on the script. These are of four types:

10 yes/no questions

10 true/false questions

10 information getting questions

a doze procedure

I, therefore, have the luxury, depending on my mood and the kinds of students I have, of choosing one oran°ther of these CaerCiSeS to hand °at It is to be completed during the second showing of the cassette. With thisextra printed support in front of them, students can practice reception and comprehension skills with more precision.The questions, simple and short, are written to reward the effective listener or reader, rather than bedevil the mostastute. After the second showing, moreover, these questionnnires can serve to focus a general discussion, or forfurther group correction, analysis, and processing, or even for more oral practice.

TV OR NOT TV?

Mother exerchte type is the scrambled paragraph. Here two possibilities exist. The student receives either aset of sentences which paraphrase the content and sununariza the gist of the video or, alternatively, a sequence ofsentences directly transcribed from the sound track. But in either case, the sentences have been mixtd up, orrearranged, and the student must reconstruct their appropriate chronological or logical order, by listening and/orreading for the gist, as well as attending to connectives. I have not described these activities in greater detail, becauseI 3111 sure that most readers are already familiar with them, and because, in any event, most widely known L2pedagogy and methods texts describe them in careful detail.

If these are the ways, in rough outlines, of using the video cassettes and script in class, out of class theinstructor must make some preliminary decisions. He or she must take stock of the number of cassettes to beintegrated into a course, the frequency and rhythm of their use, and his or her own philosophy, that is, the purpose forusing them and the objectives that can be realistically attained in using them. Consciously or unconsciously, we alldecide how much dependence on the printed script we wish to tolerate or encourage

I am fortunate enough to have one cassette available per week. What I do, therefore, is set up a schedulewhereby the students axe progressively weaned from using the script to make sense of what they are hearing andseeing.

-Tapes 1 and 2: distribute the script a day ahead of the video presentation, so that the class may read itover at home and prepare for what they will hear and see.

-Tapes 3 and 4: distribute the script on the same day in class, just ahead of the presentation. This givespeople practice in reading for comprehension within a controlled amount of time. I ask them, in eitherapproach, not to refer to the printed word during the first showing, but to absorb what they can throughtheir ears and eyes.

-Tapes 5 and 6: distribute the script after the first showing in class, but before doing any exercises orpattern drills. Students may rely on the printed test to help themselves through some fast pacedoral/aural exercises.

-Tapes 7 and 8: hand the script out only afier the oral/aural activities. People are being trained to relyon their ears to decipher signals.

-Tapes 9 and 10: now distribute the script after the second showing, as a way of meeting the needs ofthose who may feel that they have been getting nothing out of the "broadcasts".

After this point, I refrain from distributing the script at el. Thus the students are gently nudged intointegrating sight andsound, whether from the classroom activities or the TV screen. Ultimately, I eliminate a secondshowing altogether, in which case, it is helpful at first either to have some oral preparation activities or pass out oneof the four types ofquestionmire or exercises in order to focus the attention of the listener-learners. After the singleshowings, I try to lead a general loosely-structured discussion of the video, its contents (at whatever level isappropriate for askingquestions of this sort), or student reactions.

Advantages

The chief pedagogical, as opposed to technical, advantage of using video cassettes must inevitably lie instudent responses to them. Video cassettes expose students in an enjoyable manner to language in a context that is asnatural and as "live" as we currently know how to make it.

56 'STUDIES IN LANGUAGE LEARNING 5:1 (1985)

The second advantage of relying on video-cassette instruction applies more to the instructor. For it emergesas the method of choice for thost, who prefer an eclectic approach to choosing one of several ironclad methods. Theinstructor retains far greater control than over prepackaged text and tape program& Because the videos were notoriginally targeted for a mass market as a lower level vocabulary and grammar instructional tool, they are adaptableto most teaching methods. That as, they may serve either as the basis of instruction or as an integrated supplement.

A third and final great advantage of video-cassette material is its controllable length. The Chroniques deFrance meet the criterion established by the research and experiments of Jensen and Vithner (1983:132) who statethat the optimal duration for video matenal per lesson has proved to be three to seven minutes. Because the tapes inquestion_are relatively short, short enough, that is, to be replayed during one class period, they enable students toperceive a difference between their first and second hearing. Through this process, they build that sense ofconfidence, progress, and achievement without which there is no motivation. Even those who think it boring to go

. .over the same material twice in a row are usually willing to forego that objection I! the visual material is rich and welldone. The pleasure of instant replay is a part of today's lifestyle.

Video casettes expose students to what Krashen (1984; 1981:10-38) calls an "acquisition richenvironment". For the scripts were written to convey messages of intellectual and cultural significance to adults.That is, the language was not tailored by overly protective editors artificially to provide redundant examples ofSelected lexical or syntat.:.ical patterns. The; provide, instead, all the elements of the "1+1" situation that Krashendefines as ideal for genuine langcage acquisition. By this shorthand formula, he simply means that the student isreceiving contextualized chunks of lanriage input at a level somewhat above his or her current stage of consciouslearning.

My videos are in French. Nor are they the onlyones available commercially. French Video (900 Broadway,Suite 600, New York;-NY-10003) currently madcets-a-particularly artistic and amusing collection of French TV ads.-Because they come with a script, one may adapt these "shorts" in much the same ways that I have described above,either for language training purposes or for cross-cultural comparison: and analysis. The commercials are groupedaround products and industries, which makes it easy for the instructor to divide them into manageable units and forthe students to use them as models for making their own ads. In fact, for those who believe that Roland Barthesanalysis of advertising slogans and symbols in Mythologies offers a unique way to understand discourse, then TV adsbecome the privileged text for studying how a given culture user. language, as well as a way in to the linguisticfeatures that carry meaning in that culture.

Description of Materials

Speakeasy is a video cassette produced by the BBC and so named because the series of pantomimes it offersare designed to make it easy for the viewer to speak in .the absence of actors who speak. The 14 skits on one tapemeet the _BBC's highest professional standards of artistic and technical excellence. Delightful piano musicaccompanies the superb acting and the dumb show usually takes on the flavor of an "old time movie". Tne entirepackage, which retails for $400 from Audio Forum, is accompanied by a complete, but compact, instructor's guide of30 pagei, Containing detailed plot summaries, catalogues of the language functions brought into play, and excellentsuggestions for using Speakeasy in a variety of wayi and with a variety of instructional contexts and levels.

_ Paradoxically, because it contains no language at all, it is well suited for the study of any language. Because mime is

SPEAKEASY

TV OR NOT TV?57

the universal laeguage, it. is truly the all-purpose czsseue. More important than simply making it easier for theviewer to speak in the presence of actors who do not speak is what the tape makes it easy to speak about. k e 14situations that constimte the dumb shows are usually what proponents of the oral proficiency movement would callsurvival situations, many of them with a complication. These include situations lila:

-introducing oneself to a member of the opposite sex

-ordering a mai in a restaurant

-kerning to play tennis by asking and answering questions

-getting a taxi ride and getting lost

-buying a pair of shoes and finding out that they do not fit

-straightening out airline reservations.

Use of Speakeasy

The skits lend themselves to widely differing uses in a range of pedagogicalsettings and persuasions. Theycan form the basis for "homemade" pattern drills or spontaneous role plays either in small groups or in front of theentire class; on the other hand, these may be rehearsed for later re-enactment, or they can form the topic of writtenexercises or composition; and because they depict connected stories easily assimilated, they can form the substancefor narrating or describing in past, present, or future due. As the basis of a chain story by everyone in class, thenarrative mai, be written or oral, and proceed in chronological order or be related in reverse chronological order. Inthe latter case, each participant gets to use the introductory formula, "Yes, but before that happened, this happened..."Here the narrative chain resembles a backwards build up sentence in which the last element is uttered first, and thenew material is added. on to the most familiar part. Such a procedure makes it easier to recall the whole syntact:calgrouping. Seldom can a student go wrong and have nothing to say, for even the most inattentive will usually recall orfind a detail to add in following this procedure.

Advantages

A Speakeasybroadcast efficiently transmits to the student sufficient material for language practice in contextand for verbalizing all the visual messages received. The instructor thus secures a guaranteed minimum of rawmaterial, which is not always the case with homework. When students do not do outside reading assignments, thereis nothi'rig to speak about. Lilo nature, Speakeasy abhors this vacuum and fills it. One brief broadcast supplies amplematter for guided language practiee, as well as meaningful interchanges and communication, and the speakingpractice ienot linked to the reading habit, practice, or ability.

Theoretical Justification

The skiti involve the viewers in what- J. L. Austin (1975:121-132) has defined as performative orillocutionary apeoch acts. In thia uaeof language, the speaker actually accomplishes a certain task, such as ordering,linve1104; inviting, SpnlOginikkreforimanding,., expreasintgratitude, ind the like, by the speech act itielf. To saysoMething is tO do something; hiainse thklanguage Li Meant to take effect Or secure uptake. Because an illocutionaryautin::itei. response Or a .aaquei; it goes o die, heart of coninaninicativi competence; it involves the speaker ininterperiOnal eichinge, rithkthan _third PeriOri leferential use of, language. Television without words thereforehelpi-.;thk:viiiver to use WOrdi iii4nadiately tO get the job done. the speech aCti stressed by Speakeasy are those

58 STUDIES IN LANGUAGE LEARNING 5:1 (1985)

suggested by the Council of Europe's definition of a threshold level of language and the functions that adults mostfrequently need to be able to carry out in a second language. Its philosophical underpinnings do not mean, however,that Speakeasy speaks only to true believers in the functional notional syllabus. Far from it. Conceptually, Speakeasyis consistent as well with CLL, Counselor Language Learning, associated with the name of Father Charles Curran(Stevick 1980:100-130). The instructor serves as a facilitator or resource person for the students trying to reenact themini dramas. The tewher assigns the active roles to students, who work in pairs, to pofect the speaking parts. Butthe teacher as such remains offstage, outside the charmed circle as it were, to act only as a talking dictionary.

OF SOAPS AND OTHER OFF-AIR FOLLIES

The c.v.!! of television described above both require a moderate capital outlay of $50-$400. For instructorswhose budget would embarrass Arthur Frommer, one option remains. And it combines several of the advantages andtheoretical considerations of both approaches already discussed. Locally televised material can be incorporated intoclassroom activities. Create your own Speakeasy simply by televising without sound. If a VCR is available, youneed only tape what you want at home ahead of the class and play it back with the sound turned off. In the absence ofa home video machine, you may simply select a show being broadcast during the class and atm off the sound.

Use of Inaudible TV

With the sound of an salmi television show or recording turned off, one can essentially carry out all theSpeakeasy activities outlined above. In this case, however, the choice of what to air is problematic. Many instructorsfmd that the afternoon soaps are most effective. Are the tenons obvious? If these soaps are not actually a way of lifeamong young (and old) people, they are an institution. Millions know the characters, themes, and plots. Seventhgraders and drictoral Candidata alas, in English or engineering, talk volubly about them, predict their twists andturns, guess the outcoines, assess character and motivatifm, summarize the main events, describe the settings, props,and clothing, construct hypothetical situations, and argue about intenticn. In class, therefore, the characters are wellenough known, the situations basic enough, the facial expressions strong enough, and the camera technique obviousenough to Austain various communication activities: qumtions and answers, discussions, role playing, small groupwriting projects. Perhaps the soaps are rwt on at t.$.4 right time a you, like nature., abhor the vrcuum that theyrepresent. In this event think about taping commucials, game shows, or interviews for use in this manner. The Priceis Right, with contestants from the class doing the bidding, while the sound is off, is ideal forpracticing numbers andthe names of objects or for shouting out orders. Lilcewise, the task of preparing a 30-second sales pitch usuallyctergizes most students. Making up ads to deliver in the foreign language while the "real" ad plays on the screenoften leads to great creutivity from the "announcers" and delights the class,.who can enjoy the foreign language as aspoof of Madison Avenue or the expression of the seller's personality. We all have a bit of the ham or huckster in us,especially in speaking a non=native language, and this TV activity gives an explicit outlet to it in the 1.2 acquisitionprocess. Siniilarly, news clips or interviews featuring known personalities, lace Francois Mitterrand, Catherine deNeuve, or Chancellor Kohl on the silent screen, can serve as a backdrop with students doing the audio part live. Withthe proper preparation, students manage these adult projections withgusto.

CONCLUSION

We can best anWer Hamlet's question, "TV or not Tvr. with a word from one of his great admirers,Sigmund Freud: ,"Overdetermination". Television absorbs at once the eyes and ears of the language learner,concentrating the mental energy on the screen. From the colors, shapes, mOvements, and camera angles, as well asfrom voice, and:musid, the 112, learner receives redundant messages and clues to decoding the foreign language.Students areaot raceiviag -Oneraessage in One fora only, the privileged yoice of the teacher. Rather, as in a dream,each of the acoustical and 'visUal _images is overdetcrinined, carrying overlapping sensory stimuli, bearing severalsYthbolic meanings it once. Each image therefore accomplishes several tasks at once. For unconsciously and very

r,

59

efficiently, the student takes in more than one meaning or clue to meaning with each image. This psychologicalprocess helps make television, with or without words, an effective tool in L2 acquisition. While the medium is notthe message here, it surely gives the immediate and concrete sense that foreign language communication belongs withtoeay's technological living.

REFERENCES

Allan, M. 1984. Viewing comprehension in the EFL classroom ELT Journal 38:121-26.Austin, J. L 1975. How To Do Things With Words. Second edition ed. by Urmsom and Sbisa. Cambridge:Harvard University Press.Fiske, E 1985. Bok of Harvard ckplores 'hype' of computer. New York Times April 19.Glass, E., and J. Fiedler-Glass. 1974. Videotape in language instruction: a brief survey and an annotated

bibliovaphy of Spanish and bilingual videotapes. Bilingual Review 11.124-136.Harding-Esch, E 1981 The open access sound and video library of the University of Cambridge. System 10:1.13-28.Hill, J. K. 1978. The recording and use of off-air French television programmes. Audio-Visual Language Journal16181-84.Jensen, E 1978. Video in foreign language teaching. System 6:125-29.Jensen, E, and T. Vithner. 1983. Authentic versus easy conflict in foreign language material--a report on

experiences with production and exploitation of video in FLT. System 72.129-141.Krashen, S. 1981. Second LanguageAcquisition and Second Language Learning. New York: Pergamon Press.. 1984. A theoretical basis for teaching the receptive skills. FL Annals 17:4261-275.Linke, S. 1981. Using videotaped movies with advanced ESOL students. Cross Currents 81.13-21.McLean, A. 1975. New roles for television in the teaching of English to immigrant children. System 3:3.185-189.Odum, W. 1976. The use of videotape in foreign language instruction: a survey. NAI.J.D Journal 10:3.73-81.Riley, P. 1976. The Sound and Video Library. Centre de Recherches et d'Applications Pédagogiques en Longues,Nancy University, France.Stevick, E. 1980. Teaching Languages: A Way and Ways. Rowley, MA: Newbury House Publishers.